Wesley Corpus

Whoever is a Minister at all is a Minister of some particular Church. Neither can he cease to be a Minister of that Church, till he is cast out of it by a judicial sentence. Till, therefore, I am so cast out, (which I trust will never be,) I must style myself a Minister of the Church of England. 6. Your next objection is, “You not only erect Bands, which, after the Moravians, you call the United Society, but also give out tickets to those that continue therein.” These Bands, you think, “have had very bad consequences, as was to be expected, when weak people are made leaders of their brethren, and are set upon expounding Scripture.” (Ibid.) You are in some mistakes here. For, (1.) The Bands are not called the United Society.(2.) The United Society was originally so called, not after the Moravians, but because it consisted of several smaller societies united together. (3.) Neither the Bands nor the leaders of them, as such, are “set upon expounding Scripture.” (4.) The good consequences of their meeting together in Bands, I know; but the very bad consequences, I know not. When any members of these, or of the United Society, are proved to live in known sin, we then mark and avoid them; we separate ourselves from every one that walks disorderly. Some times, if the case be judged infectious, (though rarely,) this is openly declared. And this you style “excommunication;” and say, “Does not every one see a separate ecclesiastical society or communion?” (Page 13.) No. This society does not sepa rate from the communion of the rest of the Church of England. They continue steadfastly with them, both “in the apostolical doctrine, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Which neither Mr. St-- nor Mr. Simpson does, nor the gentleman who writes to you in favour of the Moravians, who also writes pressingly to me to separate myself from the Church.) A society “over which you had appointed yourself a governor.” No: so far as I governed them, it was at their own entreaty. “And took upon you all the spiritual authority which the very highest Church Governor could claim.” What! at Kings wood, in February, 1740-1? Not so. I took upon me no other authority (then and there at least) than any Steward of a society exerts by the consent of the other members.